


Drowned and Forgotten

by DeltaChara21



Category: Amnesia: The Dark Descent, BioShock 1 & 2 (Video Games)
Genre: ADAM addict, ADAM side-effects, Age Difference, Alexander is an asshole, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Baby boy makes some bad mistakes, Blood Magic, Burial At Sea doesn't exist in this fic-at least the major parts, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Daniel has Nyctophobia and Aquaphobia, Daniel is gay and Jack is bi, Flashbacks, Jack has Claustrophobia and Iatrophobia, M/M, Memory Loss, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Otherworldly Possession, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Past Violence, Past relationship abuse includes some Jatlas and Danielxander but in a very manipulative way, Past/Referenced Daniel and Alexander, Past/Referenced Jack Ryan and Atlas/Fontaine, Period Typical Attitudes, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm, Shadow is an aware being, Tags Contain Spoilers, The Luteces are the narrators, The Shadow is a Cthulhu-like being, They were just pawns to their 'mentors' ends, Violence, past abusive relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:35:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27533869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeltaChara21/pseuds/DeltaChara21
Summary: Jack gets transported to the world of Amnesia, right into creepy Castle Brennenburg. Daniel soon finds an ally and friend in Jack, the only human around the place he's seen from awakening from his amnesic sleep.The two are forced to work together if they want to escape the halls of Brennenburg and the grasp of Alexander, and the increasingly worrying Shadow.However, some things are easier said than done...
Relationships: Daniel (Amnesia)/Jack (BioShock), Jack Ryan/Daniel
Comments: 8
Kudos: 5





	1. The Adventure Begins

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This first time writing and publishing a fanfic, so please excuse any lot of errors or spelling mistakes you may see.  
> I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> ALSO, big shoutout and thanks to Malice, raphae11e, Polymathema, and many others who inspired me to give this a shot, even if it blows up in my face.  
> I can at least say I tried....and that's better than nothing!
> 
> And also big thanks to all of my friends who suffer through me getting ideas and helping me make a much better story out of the conjointed mess that comes out of my head.

Daniel ran. It was all he could do anymore…..so he just ran.  
  


The flesh pursued him…..but finally stopped when reaching a doorway, effectively blocking off Daniel’s escape for now.

Daniel soon turned around, looking behind himself, to see if he was still being pursued, thankfully, though, it seemed as though he lost them.  
He then continued to march on, pouring more oil into his lantern and dutifully heading onward.

Shortly thereafter, a faint noise alerted Daniel's senses. He then headed towards the sounds to see if he could discover if the sounds were friendly.

Turning a corner, he lit up the area with his lantern and was initially shocked at what he saw.  
A human, not one of the monsters that had been chasing him all over the castle, but a normal human…..and a cute one at that.  
He didn’t know why he found the man attractive, and he certainly couldn’t remember the last time he saw a human….but he did strike him as quite cute...and he hadn’t even seen his face yet.  
  
  
  


Daniel ignored that last thought as his cheeks flushed pink, but the stranger quickly noticed the light shining on him and whipped around, crackles of blue lightning suddenly filling the air.

The man had a dirty, thick, once white sweater on, with his hands and wrists exposed and odd-looking chain tattoos on his wrists.  
All Daniel knew was this man thought he was a threat, as clearly seen by the twisted look of rage on the man’s bloodied face.

Daniel let out a yelp of fear, accidentally dropping his lantern in the process and watching the light go out in it.  
The man approached, his physical build much stronger than Daniel’s and he was clearly unaffected by the dark, as now the only light in the room from the stranger himself, his hands lighting up the room with both electric energy and fire.

He almost seemed like he was going to hurt Daniel, but as soon as Daniel was forced closer to the man…..he could tell he was just as scared as Daniel was.  
Before the man could do anything, the duo heard noises right behind the stranger…… It was another one of the Gatherers and it was headed right for them, with there being almost nowhere to hide in the long corridor.

The stranger was the first to react, pulling out a gun of some sort from his bag around his neck and unleashing shot after shot onto the Gatherer.  
It didn’t take that many blows to take it down, but Daniel was gone by the time it was dead.  
  
  


Daniel, now missing his lantern and a bit of his draining sanity, had fled once the first shot rang out, terrified that more would come after him or maybe that man would chase him down and kill him.  
Either was a possibility for Daniel’s struggling mental state and he was pretty sure he didn’t want either.  
  


He soon found a room to take refuge in, lighting the room up with his dwindling tinderboxes.  
Daniel didn’t realize the man was pursuing him, but not for the reasons he thought of.  
  


A few moments passed and Daniel was resting on a wooden crate, weary from the unexpected discovery and shock of discovering another living soul in the dead mansion.  
Then, a knocking came at the door, alerting Daniel once more as the man who had killed the attacking Gatherer peeked inside.

“Hello? A….are you in here?”  
The man’s voice sounded raspy, as if he wasn’t accustomed to talking very much and hadn’t been for a while.  
“You left something…..and….and….. I killed the monster in the hallway.  
I’m sorry. I didn’t…. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Daniel said nothing but his silence proved futile when the man locked eyes with him, sending a shiver of fear trailing down his spine.  
The man then smiled, calmly opening the door as he attempted to not scare Daniel anymore.  
It was in vain, however, as Daniel was already in a state of paralyzed fear.  
  
  


The two young men stared at each other silently, the stranger soon smiled again and sighed as he kept a distance from Daniel.  
“I’m sorry, again. I…..kinda overreacted. I thought you were…..a lot more dangerous than you actually were.”

It was at that, that Daniel frowned and let out a huff of irritation.  
“Are you saying I’m not very intimidating? That’s awfully rude, you know.”

The man innocently blinked, then cracked a grin.  
“I’m afraid you’re not. You’re more…..timid, from what I can tell.  
Also…..why is that rude? I’m just being honest….unlike Atlas.”  
The man’s expression briefly turned dark as muttered the last part, but Daniel still heard it anyway.  
  
  


Daniel sighed, his expression softening as he looked over the man in front of him.  
He didn’t look very old, in his early to middle 20s at least….but the most interesting thing was his hands. Or at least one hand, still occasionally sparking with electricity.

He frowned, quite puzzled by the stranger’s abilities. “How do you do that?”

The man alerted to attention, as he had also begun zoning out.  
“Huh? What do you mean?”

Daniel sighed, pointing at his hands. “How do your hands do that? How do you hold electricity in your hand? Or fire? What kind of creature are you to do those wonders?”

The man glanced at his hands, then chuckled. “Oh…. that. It’s nothing, really. Just some genetic modi….modia…..modifi-cations. Modifications! Sorry…. I’m not very good with big words….

Honestly, I just stuck a bunch of ADAM in me and now I have a lot of crazy superpowers! Isn’t it cool?!?”  
  
  


The man’s energetic energy and child-like behavior got a giggle from Daniel.  
The first one in a long time since he was first escorted to the castle and entered the nightmares within. But his explanation also had him curious.  
Genetic modifications? Were those possible? They sure weren’t in his time, as far as he knew.

So, how? Did that also mean the man was originally human? That only brought up new questions, but Daniel feared the man himself might not even know the answer to them.  
  


Speaking of which, Daniel realized he still hadn’t introduced himself and he felt a great deal of shame for not doing so sooner.  
“Ah! Pardon my….absence of mind. I have not been in the clearest state of mind all day…  
I should introduce myself. My name is Daniel.”

The man smiled again, introducing himself as well.  
“My name is Jack. Jack…. Ryan. It’s nice to meet you, Daniel.”

Daniel smiled again. “Likewise. May I enquire how you wound up in Castle Brennenburg? It isn’t an easy feat to just….happen to find yourself within.”

Jack simply shrugged. “I dunno. I just….was wandering around Rapture, and then found this place with a big device. I...stepped inside the ring of energy the device was showing….and I wound up here.  
I’m honestly really lost. Do you know a way out of here?

Daniel sighed, slightly shaking his head. “I’m not too sure myself. Though right now, I’m on a bit of a mission.  
I wanted to also ask…. You said you had something of mine, Mr. Ryan? Would it happen to be my lantern?”  
  
  


Jack nodded but frowned as he was called Mr. Ryan.  
“Yeah… I do. But please don’t call me that. Just call me Jack.  
I’m not Mr. Ryan. My dad was…...until…. I……”  
He let out a little sob, covering his face with hands.

Daniel sighed, looking sad as he saw the man in front of him break down.  
“I’m sorry. I’ll call you Jack if it will calm you.”  
The man in front of him brought back glimpses of memory in Daniel that chilled him to his core.  
  


Jack soon calmed down and wiped off the tears from his face, but the dried blood remained as he reached inside his satchel.  
He pulled out the lantern, but then looked embarrassed for some reason.  
“Uh…. I tried to relight it after I killed that weird guy, but…. I think I might have broken it.  
I’m...sorry.”

Daniel looked worried as Jack handed him the broken lantern, only to see the man wasn’t lying. It had no oil and there was no way to keep the lantern lit without a steady supply of the oil.  
He rapidly examined the lamp to discover there was a hole in the bottom of it from when he dropped it.  
  
  


Daniel sighed, then looked over at Jack, who looked like an extremely guilty child.  
“Ah…. It isn’t your fault. I think I broke it….when it fell from my grasp.  
I will just have to do without it.”

Jack looked around, still not convinced of his own innocence.  
“You sure? I still feel bad….”

Daniel smiled, looking over to the man with a regretful smile.  
“Do not. It isn’t your fault.  
If anything is to fault, it would be the creature that you killed and scared me out of my wits. And….it has already paid for its crime.”

Jack nodded, then his face lit up and he came over to Daniel with a big grin.  
“I got an idea! What if I become your personal torch? I have nothing else to do…. I can’t exactly go back to where I came from…..and I feel it would make up for breaking the lantern!  
I can do a lot of cool things with Incinerate...and just keeping it on to provide light doesn’t take away from my Eve.  
So, I’m fine with it. And I can keep you safe, so you can do whatever you have to do!”  
  
  


Daniel blinked, not sure how to respond to Jack’s proposal.  
“You…..don’t even know what I’m going to do. I’m going to kill Baron Alexander of Brennenburg. I am going to kill the man who owns this castle.”

Jack frowned but patiently waited.  
“Why? Did he do something to you? Did he do something to someone you know?”

Daniel somberly nodded. “He did. He broke me. He broke others….and then I was told to kill him.”

Jack nodded, still waiting.  
“Who told you to kill him? Do they want something out of killing him?”  
  
  


Daniel sighed. “I shouldn’t tell you this…..but…..I don’t see what holding back the truth I know will harm you with. It may actually help.

I…..told myself in a note, to kill him. A note….I don’t recall writing.  
I barely recall anything solid.  
But…. I do remember glimpses...of memory and feelings.  
I know they weren’t good. I think…. I caused my own memory loss to save my broken humanity and sanity.

Heh…. Looks like that did no good, as I still have to confront what my...past self failed to do for reasons that elude me.  
And in the process, I only regain my fractured memories, which makes my past self’s actions seem quite stupid.  
I just know I must kill him, or he will continue to hurt and torture others.  
Does this make sense?”  
  


Jack nodded, though he was clearly quite confused. He soon joined Daniel on a nearby crate, trying to straighten out what he was just told.  
“So….you made yourself forget everything..because you did some really bad stuff and it was this Baron’s fault….but you also told yourself to kill him in a note….which led you to walk around with no memories...but you’re getting them back, which made your actions before kinda pointless?”

Daniel nodded.  
“Essentially, yes. But it sounds rather….disappointing when you put it like that.”

Jack chuckled sheepishly.  
“Sorry. I’m not used to using all sorts of fancy words like you did.  
I…..kinda grew up on a farm. It wasn’t really necessary. Especially in Rapture.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow at that, then chuckled.  
“I can tell, country boy. If you’re wondering why I speak ‘fancy’, as you put it, it’s because I was raised as a proper Englishman.”  
  


It was now Jack’s turn to take offense at what Daniel said, but he only seemed to be mildly offended as he stuck his tongue out at Daniel and proceeded to act quite childish.  
“Bleh to you too!!”

Daniel was trying to not burst into laughter, but some snickers did escape as he did the same thing back to Jack.  
“Same to you! Bleh!”  
  


Jack burst into laughter at that and Daniel soon joined him, the pair of guys now collapsing into each other’s arms as they continued to laugh.  
  
  


It was the best Daniel had felt all day...


	2. My New Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff and exposition.... It will be padding for the later chapters.  
> Also, sorry if the chapter's a bit short.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was edited by my good friend, Aylablue13! Thank you so much for editing it!  
> I hope everyone enjoys the chapter!

Daniel couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so happy. So genuinely happy….  
  
And yet, this stranger had accomplished that with just a few actions. He didn’t want to let go of him, but he knew….deep in his jumbled and fractured mind, they needed to press on. He needed to stop the Baron.  
  
Daniel soon pulled away from his new friend and smiled. “So… Are you still wishing to help me?”  
Jack nodded, smiling brightly. “I am! And I’m ready to kick his ass! He sounds too much like Atlas and that’s a good enough reason for me!”  
  
Daniel looked a little startled at his new companion’s choice of words, but assumed that it was a result of his upbringing. “Well... then we should get going. All I know is that we must get to the Inner Sanctum, and we need more of these….orb shards to get in there.”  
  
Jack nodded, checking through his bag one more time. “Well, I’m ready when you are.” He then lit up his hand in flames, providing a decent amount of light around the two.  
  
Daniel smiled, heading towards the door. “I’m ready now. Let’s go.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The duo now wandered around, pausing every so often for Daniel to check the area. The older seemed on edge, despite there being no sign of danger nearby. At least, as far as Jack was aware.  
  
It finally got Jack’s curiosity enough that he decided to ask Daniel about it. “Hey…. Is there something else I should be on the look-out for?”  
  
Daniel sighed, not sure how to phrase the other danger that haunted them, without sounding like a lunatic. “Uh…. It’s…. Oh… I sound like an insane man! And this will only make me sound crazier!”  
  
Jack started giggling at that, a playful smile lighting up his face.  
“I don’t think you’re crazy! Besides, you weren’t the guy stuck in the craziest city! I was! At this point, sanity is overrated. If it’s crazy, I don’t care. Besides, sometimes crazy is good! If it’s something else I must keep an eye out for, I’d rather know than not know. Does that make sense?”  
  
Daniel nodded, looking a bit relieved by Jack’s words. “Yes. It does, to a degree...ok. There is something else following me. The Shadow. It’s the reason I came to Brennenburg in the first place. It….mannifests as a….mass of red flesh and can be attached to almost anything. And….it’s alive! It...can harm you….It hunts me down for reasons I don’t remember, but from what I can make out from all the notes or letters I found…. It’s a protector of the orb we’re gathering. Does that make sense?”  
  
Jack considered this new information for a few moments, then nodded. “Yeah. I think I got the gist of it. Lots of red flesh, it’s really bad, and it hurts you. And it’s really after you. Right?”  
  
Daniel nodded, though he found once again that Jack’s simplification made the issue sound significantly less threatening. “Right. We just...need to avoid it as best as we can.”  
  
Jack nodded, noticing a few torches on the wall and shooting a few fireballs over to light them up. “Ok. Avoid the red flesh. I can do that. But... I might be able to fight it!”  
Daniel groaned at the suggestion and Jack frowned, his expression turning to one of frustration. “What? I’ve fought a lot of stuff before! Like….spider splicers! Or Houdini splicers! Those guys are really tough!”  
  
Daniel sighed, looking over his companion with a look of doubt. “Is that so…? Besides, you can’t fight the Shadow! It’s a mass of red flesh! How do you fight that?!?”  
  
Jack grinned at that, and it was not a friendly one. “I got more powers than just Electro Bolt and Incinerate, pal. I’m spliced up to my eyeballs in Plasmids and Tonics! I’ve also got Winter Blast, Decoy, Cyclone Trap, Telekinesis, and Insect Swarm. I could freeze it, then shatter it!”  
  
Daniel only looked uncomfortable at that, letting out a disappointed sigh. “Jack…. No offense to you, but that sounds like a horrible idea!”  
  
Jack looked quite hurt by the refusal. “It’s not a bad idea! Or I could try burning it! Let’s see how it likes that!  
  
  
  
However, as the two began to argue, they failed to notice that the Shadow had caught up to them. They were oblivious until a loud roar shook the hall. The Shadow had found them. Daniel took the first action, grabbing Jack’s hand and tugging him down another corridor.  
  
Jack made the mistake of looking back and let out a little yelp of fear. The mass was chasing them, almost keeping up as they ran. As they came up to another large doorway, Jack fired up his Winter Blast and froze the area around the doorway, slowing down the Shadow momentarily.  
  
Once they got through the doorway, Jack broke away from Daniel and slammed the doors shut, freezing them over with thick ice. “There….. Ok. I’ll give you credit for that one. Maybe I should save my ammo for the monsters…Daniel? You ok?”  
  
Daniel looked around the darkened room, starting to shake in fear and failing miserably to keep it out of his voice. “Yes…. Just fine! It’s just….dark in here. Very dark. The darkness…… Is it just me or….is the room closing in?”  
  
Jack realized he didn’t have his fire plasmid on, which did leave the room quite dark. “Oh! I’m sorry! One second…” Jack lit up his hand once more, Daniel quickly rushing to the younger’s side.  
  
Jack noticed his new friend had been crying, but quickly dried his face. “Are you….afraid of the dark?” Daniel nodded slowly but remained silent.  
Jack nodded in turn, not exactly knowing what to say as they pressed on, soon finding another piece of the orb Daniel was hunting for. “So… How many more?”  
  
Daniel sighed, looking away. “I don’t recall, but we will need all the pieces to get into the Inner Sanctum. I put it together once, I’m confident that I can put it back together again….. somehow.”  
  
Jack merely nodded, lost in his thoughts as they continued on. “So, where are we headed now?”  
  
  
Daniel sighed, opening a new door. “We’re headed to the prisons…”


	3. The Dead Don’t Rest Easily

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title says all.... Especially in their heads...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by Aylablue13! Thank you so much again!

Jack blinked in disbelief but continued walking on with his new companion. “The prisons? Why?”  
  
  
Daniel sighed, looking back the way they came, then glanced back to Jack. “Because we clearly can’t go that way. That was the shortcut, back to Agrippa.”  
  
Jack nodded somberly, looking as though he had been scolded by his friend. “Oh….yeah. Sorry.”  
  
Daniel sighed, smiling slightly. “It’s ok. I take it you get distracted easily?”  
  
Jack nodded, then looked up and started walking away. Daniel looked surprised, following, and soon watching him pull at an unlit torch stuck on the wall. “Jack…. What are you doing?”  
  
Jack grinned, trying nearly everything to get the torch loose, and making some decent progress. “Getting a torch! I got an idea!”  
  
  
  
After a few seconds of effort, he freed the torch and stuck it in his bag. Daniel looked at him with a perplexed expression, until Jack explained himself. “If we get split up at any time, you can carry the torch to light your way! It’s just a back-up plan! I’d rather be over-prepared than not prepared at all.”  
  
Daniel smiled, nodding slightly to that. “I like how you think! Honestly, I didn’t think of that….nor am I strong enough to pull it off.”  
  
Jack beamed at that, looking quite proud of himself at that. He bowed dramatically, giggling a bit. “So, shall we continue?”  
  
Daniel’s cheeks flushed again at Jack’s little bow but thankfully it could hardly be seen in the dim light. “Yes, let’s. I wish not to stay in this castle any longer than I have to.”  
  
As they walked on, Jack stayed quiet for a little while but was soon chattering away again. Daniel normally would have gotten irritated at it, but actually had to admit he enjoyed the talking and the company, compared to the old creepy castle making sounds that scared him for no reason.

“So… who’s Agrippa? Is he an ally….or someone out to help himself?”

Daniel sighed, shrugging his shoulders. “I think he’s a former student of Alexander’s….who the Baron then abandoned after got what he wanted. Just like he did to me…..As for if he’s an ally or not, I think he’s on my side. He was the one who told me where to look for the shattered pieces of my orb. But….oddly enough, he called it his orb when I met him. Eh, it was probably an oversight. I will warn you though, the man is dead. He’s….. I honestly don’t know what he is now, but it’s far from human. Thankfully he’s chained up, so we aren’t in danger of getting attacked.”  
  
Jack blinked, then nodded. “Ok. Living dead. That’s not too surprising, I guess. Any other living dead monsters or guys I need to worry about?”

“Other than the monsters like the one you killed? Not really.”  
  
  
  
Jack nodded, looking relieved. “Well, then I’m well prepared for them! I should have plenty of weapons to take them on!”  
  
Daniel nodded, finally piping up with a question of his own. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how did you get all of those weapons?”  
  
Jack just smiled calmly at Daniel, gesturing to one of the firearms strapped to his back. “These? I found them.”  
  
It was now Daniel’s turn to stay quiet, not sure how to respond to that. After a few moments, he found his words. “Ah…. Was there a war going on?”  
  
Jack just shook his head, looking surprisingly unshaken considering the topic. “No. Just the remains of one.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They soon arrived at the entrance of the prison, Daniel being a bit worried despite having a new bodyguard, and Jack being quite curious and wide-eyed.  
  
As they moved inside, Jack noticed the smell permeating the air and scrunched up his nose. “Ugh….. This place smells worse than a Big Daddy!”  
  
Daniel chuckled at that. “You think this is bad? Just wait until you get to the sewers…. It’s really bad down there.”  
  
They then heard a loud guttural groan, the sound shooting fear up Daniel’s spine. Daniel clutched his own arms, short nails digging into his skin, and Jack grabbed his revolver.  
  
A humanoid-like creature began lumbering towards them, actually quite slow, but it still terrified Daniel. Jack took his burning arm and aimed it at the creature, sending a stream of fire at it, then ending it with a few shots to its face.  
  
Daniel looked on with a look of shock and horror as he finally got a good look at the burning creature’s face. It wasn’t human anymore, but flashes of memory washed over…..and Daniel knew it had been. He spoke up to his companion, noticing he didn’t look phased at all by the creature’s look. “Can we please leave this…..corpse behind and move on? I don’t feel so well, looking at it.”  
  
Jack nodded and they continued on, a faint memory burbling back up in Daniel’s mind. It wasn’t a pleasant one.  
  
  


\-----------------------------------------------------  
  
 _Daniel stood over a woman, glaring at her with a boiling, raging anger from inside himself. “Where is she? Where did she go?!?”  
_  
 _The woman clutched her arms, crying profusely. “No! I won’t tell! I’ll never tell you!!”  
_  
 _Daniel grabbed the woman's arm, nearly growling at the woman while the Baron watched silently from behind him._  
 _“You’re just making things worse…. Look. This is no place for a young girl all by herself! She could be hurt or worse! There is no telling what horrors await down there…!”  
_  
\----------------------------------------------------------------

Daniel snapped back to reality, only to see now Jack was guiding him throughout the place, his empty hand now holding Daniel’s. When the younger noticed that his friend had returned to reality, he smiled. “So…. Where do we need to go now?”  
  
Daniel shook his head, still feeling like he was in a trance. “Down. We need to go down. There should be a hole….in the floor somewhere.”  
  
Jack nodded, sending a fireball from his hand to light up a nearby torch on the wall. “Yeah...you said that already. I’ve been trying to figure out where the hole is…..but you weren’t very responsive.”  
  
Daniel felt a wave of shame wash over him as he looked around with Jack. “Oh… It’s in a cell. I’m sorry… I just...keep remembering. I hate my past self. He was a cruel, unflinching, uncaring, deranged man. I wish I could stop remembering him, yet I still want to know. I still hunger to know what drove him to leave me like this.”  
  
Jack sighed, looking away as they entered another prison cell. “I don’t envy you….but I understand. You want to know, but you’re horrified once you find out. It’s weird.”  
  
Daniel sighed. “Yes, it is. Most...weird indeed.”  
  
  
They soon found the hole, but it was too small for Jack to go through. Daniel kicked some rocks down and made the hole bit bigger, then followed in behind Jack. It seemed to lead to another area of the prison and Jack noticed more torches, quickly lighting them up. “Ok. Which way now?”  
  
Daniel brushed the rubble off his dirty coat, letting out a sigh. “I’ll lead the way, Jack.”  
  
Jack frowned at this but relented. “Alright. Lead the way.” Daniel did exactly that, guiding them further into the underground labyrinth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well.... It can't get worse from here, right?


	4. Buried Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who said Daniel was the only one with problems?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by Aylablue13! Thank you for reading!

Jack waited for Daniel to get up, letting out a sigh. After looking around he decided to light up the new area, hating the thought of staying still. It didn’t look too different from the area they just left, but Jack personally didn’t care. He just was hoping that Atlas was wrong...and he could trust someone without being betrayed. And yet…..the fake Irishman’s words were still lodged in his head.  
  
  
 _“You think you're some kind of hero? I ordered you up from Suchong like a Chinese dinner: a little from column A, a little from column B. What do you plan on going back to? Your fake family? Your phony dreams? Putting you out of your misery will be the nicest thing anyone's ever done for you.”_  
  
 _“You broke the spell?! But layin' all your chips on Mother Goose -- it's not like you never been double-crossed before, you know what I'm sayin'?”  
_  
  
Jack shook his head, wiping the tears from his face before Daniel noticed. He didn’t want to worry his new friend.  
  
Daniel led the way, Jack lighting with one of his hands, lit up in orange and blue flames. Despite his minute use of Eve, he was still getting quite drained. Thankfully, he remembered he had a few Eve-filled snacks and several Eve needles that could be used if he ran too low.  
  
He soon spoke up to Daniel again, wondering if he was hungry too. “Hey…. Are you hungry?”  
  
Daniel frowned, looking confused by the sudden question. “Um… Not particularly. Why do you ask?”  
  
Jack sighed, looking away. “I was just wondering if you wanted some food I had on me. But…. I guess I can wait to eat. We….we should focus on finding Alexander…”  
  
Daniel looked at his friend and noticed he was shaking, which concerned him. “Jack? Are you alright?”  
  
Jack just nodded in response, staying quiet. They continued on, the tension growing as they navigated the maze-like rooms and the feeling of dread filled the air, worsened by sounds that could be either the echo of prisoners, or some poor souls still trapped in there.  
It reminded Jack far too much of wandering around Fort Frolic, and before he realized it his consciousness was falling into a memory.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
 _Jack looked around, then looked horrified as he saw the man called Fitzpatrick was blown up in front of him. He managed to keep himself from throwing up, but there was still bile in his mouth as the man was now still stuck to the stage by the plaster, but also laying there with chunks of his flesh scattered all over.  
_  
 _It was only when Sander Cohen spoke up, that he looked even more horrified at what he was being asked to do. “Come down now, little moth. Life ... death ... the burden of the artist is to capture! See young Fitzpatrick here on the stage? Use your camera. Take him as he is now, so I may remember him.”  
_  
 _Jack stood there, idly for a few moments, before Cohen spoke again…..now impatient. “What are you waiting for? Fitzpatrick can't hold that pose forever!”  
_  
 _Jack sighed reluctantly, then complied, and took the picture. Did he ever have a choice? Or was it always an illusion, a facade that could be easily torn away by anyone?_  
  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
“Jack…. Jack!”  
  
Jack immediately stood in alertness, fear running down his spine as they were hiding in one of the dingy, cramped, and stinky cells. For a moment, he was confused….until he vaguely remembered what happened.  
  
Daniel heard something….and he was so wrapped in his ADAM memory, that he failed to notice that something spotted them. It only took Jack a few seconds to realize how cramped they were in this cell….and it terrified him.  
  
  
He hated it. He wanted out. He wanted out **now**. Daniel was also on edge but seemed to be talking up a storm to try and reassure himself and Jack. “..... And here I thought I was the only one who spaced out….. Guess I was wrong. Jack, did you even hear it?!? I’m sorry for dragging you in here, but I didn’t know what else to do….. Jack? Jack? Are you listening to me?? Jack…!”  
  
It was then that Jack snapped in anger at Daniel. He just couldn’t take it anymore. He had to leave. “Shut up!! I don’t want to hear it! I can’t take this anymore!! I CAN’T STAY IN HERE ANYMORE!!!”  
  
Daniel was completely silent, then let out a little squeak as he saw the monster that was hunting them, come inside at Jack’s shouting.  
  
Jack felt nothing as he froze the monster, then started beating it brutally with his wrench, even after it unfroze, until it was a bloody pulp on the floor. No regret. No remorse. Nothing.  
  
  
He looked back at Daniel, then ran. Unsurprisingly, Daniel gave chase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things...have gotten worse.


	5. Old Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old friend has a talk with Daniel...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by Aylablue13! Please check out her work on Fiverr!  
> https://www.fiverr.com/aylablue13?source=order_page_user_message_link
> 
> Enjoy!

Daniel chased after Jack, who was now tearing down the hallway in fear. “Jack! Where are you going?!? Jack!!!”

Jack swerved a corner, then created a barrier of ice, blocking Daniel’s way. “I can’t stay here! I’m sorry! I….I can’t stay here anymore! I’m too scared! I don’t…. I can’t…. I need fresh air! I need sunlight! I need to get out of here!! I can’t help you… I’m sorry…”

Daniel stared, putting a hand onto the cold ice, looking lost and hurt for a moment, before running back the way he came and taking an alternate route.  
He ducked around to a lit-up stairway and started running into a darkened hallway.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jack ran, sweat dripping down his face and neck, losing himself deeper and deeper in the underground maze. He soon came across several signs, but couldn’t understand what was inscribed on them so they were ignored.

He could hear Daniel shouting, echoing throughout the chambers. “Jack! Whatever is wrong, please come back and talk to me! You’re only getting yourself lost deeper in the prison! The Shadow will find you!!! Please! I don’t….”

It was too quiet to hear anymore after that….and Jack didn’t care. He was too scared to stay there anymore. He then ran down another hallway to suddenly be blocked by masses of flesh. The Shadow.  
He gritted his teeth, raised his hand in electric energy, and gripped his wrench tightly in his other hand. “You’re not stopping me…. Get out of my way…”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daniel ran down the halls, worried. What caused such an extreme fear in Jack that he ran away? He honestly wished he remembered….anything about his past. But it was just a blank slate. A blank slate….stained with regret and Damascus Rose.

He tried to shake those thoughts out….but he couldn’t. Was this lust he felt….or love? Genuine caring about another person… Did he already have someone…? He didn’t think so, at least Past Daniel never mentioned someone in the scattered bits of his own journal.  
Why did he care so much about Jack’s safety? Why did he care so much for this random man...when he knew he didn’t care about anyone else like this? At least, his past self didn’t care. But...he wasn’t that man anymore, was he?

He wasn’t Past Daniel. He was Daniel…. Daniel of Mayfair. And he wasn’t going to be as cruel as he was then. He was going to find Jack, and get them out of this horrible prison. Get them out quickly. Right?

At least those were his thoughts until he heard Jack let out a cry of pain and he spun on his heel to follow the sound. “JACK!!! HOLD ON!!!”

He kept running, ignoring the darkness closing in, ignoring the pain growing in his legs from constantly running. Ignoring it all. He suddenly came to a screeching halt as he found Jack. He was horrified at what he saw.

It wasn’t long before tears began pooling in his eyes, and he was unable to speak. Jack was in the middle of being consumed by the Shadow. Daniel didn’t know what to do, especially afraid after the Guardian had killed all those he had talked to before he came to Brennenburg.

Biting down his bile, he grabbed one of Jack’s outstretched arms and tried to pull him out of the mass of flesh. “Jack…. Hold on! I’ll get you out of there!!”

The Shadow didn’t seem to like that too much and bubbled up around Daniel to block his way out. That only amplified Daniel’s fear and anxiety, but he continued with his task, trying to find Jack’s other arm and pull him out.

Jack had seemed to catch onto what Daniel was doing, and despite being silenced by the flesh, was trying to reach out to take Daniel’s other hand...but the Shadow had other ideas. It pulled Jack further into itself, and Daniel only let go when it flayed his hand, sending him falling back onto the floor, forcing him to just watch in horror as he thought Jack was just going to die like all the others…

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jack was confused when he woke up in pitch-black darkness. Didn’t he die? Wasn’t he….consumed...by the flesh?  
He remembered it vividly. He electrocuted the Shadow, then it… lunged at him and he….tried to freeze it. That had only amplified his problem. Especially after he shattered a good chunk of it and it unfroze and latched onto his legs. And then…. Well, did it matter? He was dead now.

It did look like the same darkness he plunged into every time he died in Rapture…..but he knew it was different. Somehow. He got up and looked around. Nothing looked different…..until he saw someone. And the person he saw made his blood boil.  
“ATLAS!!!!”

He lunged at the man, failing to notice the man wasn’t Atlas and that his eyes were completely black. He clobbered the man with a punch to his face and he fell to the ground, unable to speak up before getting hit again, leaving a large bruise on his eye and blood beginning to leak out of his nose.

“Jack….”

Jack didn’t listen, grabbing the man by his collar and bringing him closer to his face. “Don’t you dare speak, you fucking liar. You piece of filth….You used me! You got me killed! _You made me kill my own father…._ I don’t want to hear anything else, Fontaine. I don’t need to. Now you get to feel what it’s like to be on the receiving end of death.”  
  
Surprisingly, the man said nothing. He just smiled, even as Jack’s hand that was gripping his ‘collar’ became electrified and a wrench manifested itself in Jack’s other hand. “Ready to die? I almost hope you enjoy it as much as I will...”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daniel sat near Jack and the masses of flesh, sobbing. He felt…..completely responsible. This was his fault…..right? And this time, he couldn’t pin the blame on Past Daniel. It wasn’t Past Daniel that did this. It was him.

Only him….

He then heard a voice, in his mind, that wasn’t his own… “ _Daniel… Do you see what I was talking about? Your inability to confront the Shadow always leads to the deaths of those around you. If you just confronted it… submitted to it, it wouldn’t be threatening to kill us both….and it wouldn’t have killed your friend. Speaking of your friend, did you really trust him? A man shows up out of nowhere….and you eagerly welcome him. No thoughts whether he is a foe or not…. Just welcome him! Are you that naive?”_

Daniel growled as the voice continued to break down his mind. “Shut up, Alexander!!! I’m not listening to you!”

“ _Are you being truthful there or are you just lying to yourself? I think we both know the answer to that question. Why don’t you just give up your silly quest and help me? The Shadow is right there. Stop it….for both of us.”_ Thankfully, he shut up after that, but Daniel was now crying harder. The damage had been done.

However, Daniel noticed something was wrong with the flesh that had swallowed Jack. Was it just his imagination…..or was it….sparking with electricity? No. It wasn’t his imagination.   
Jack was alive.  
  
He grinned, looking up at the ceiling, yelling at Alexander. “You’re wrong! He’s alive!!!” He didn’t care if the Baron heard him, giddy with hope. He just wanted his friend to come back…..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It may be a while before I update again, but it will be updated as soon as possible.  
> I will not be abandoning it anytime soon!


End file.
